Point OneDrive to existing folders

Question

Point OneDrive to existing folders

Brian 0

I had OD on my desktop, removed it because I thought it might be the cause of computer freezes, & now I do not think it was the culprit, so I reinstalled it. I let it choose the default folder, e.g., C:\drive location and hit 'go'. However, all the files in my E:\ drive were not completely included. Argh!

All I want to do is have the folders & files on my E:\drive & one file on my C:\ drive be saved to OD yet always exist on the computer.

Please do not send me links because I have been through all that & what I am trying to do is not explicit in any OD links. This should be a lot easier! :-(

Thank you.

3 answers

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Answer 1

Arlene D 22,015 Independent Advisor

Which folders on E:\ and which file on C:\ do you want backed up?

OneDrive can copy folders to the cloud while keeping them on your PC.

Open OneDrive settings, go to Backup, and choose “Manage backup.” Pick the folders you want from E:. For the single C:\ file, put it in a folder OneDrive backs up, or create a new folder in OneDrive and move the file there.

Make sure in Settings > Account > Choose folders that everything you want is selected. This way, OneDrive saves your files online but leaves them on your computer.

Brian 0 Reputation points

2025-12-05T14:24:56.86+00:00

Arlene D,

Thank you for your response; however, ARGH! I selected the E:\ as the folder to put OD yet I had no choice as to which folder/files in either the C:\ or E:\ drive to choose to back up. And OD backed up files that are not even current.

Answer 2

Arlene D 22,015 Independent Advisor

Oh, sorry. OneDrive can’t pick individual folders on E:\ or C:\ for backup. It only backs up standard folders and may include old files. To back up only what you want, create a folder inside OneDrive and move or copy your current E:\ folders and the C:\ file there. OneDrive will sync them to the cloud and keep them on your PC.

Brian 0 Reputation points

2025-12-05T15:37:43.74+00:00

Wow, that is horrible that one does not have a choice. Heck, one can buy an external drive and have those choices! Every time I create an OD folder it automatically starts backing up the standard files. :-( How do I completely remove OD folder/files? I uninstalled OD yet it is not letting me delete the folder/files. And how do I remove the OD files online?

Thank you for your assistance. Maybe you can tell MS to fix the issue of us not having control! ;-)

Answer 3

Craig Long 16,510 Volunteer Moderator

If you don't want the standard folders—Desktop, Documents, Pictures—backing up to OneDrive, go to the OneDrive cloud icon on the taskbar > OneDrive settings > Sync and Backup tab > Manage Backup and turn off the syncing of your standard folders. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/back-up-your-folders-with-onedrive-d61a7930-a6fb-4b95-b28a-6552e77c3057

OneDrive can only be in one location, but you can move it:

Change the location of your OneDrive folder - Microsoft Support

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Point OneDrive to existing folders

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